The Conveyancing Process in Brief

The conveyancing process is the legal process of transferring the ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer. The process typically involves the following steps:

1. Instruction: The buyer instructs a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to carry out the conveyancing process on their behalf.

2. Preliminary checks: The conveyancer conducts initial checks, such as verifying the buyer's identity, conducting money laundering checks, and checking the property's title.

3. Searches: The conveyancer carries out various searches, such as local authority searches, environmental searches, and water and drainage searches, to identify any issues that may affect the property.

4. Mortgage offer: If the buyer is obtaining a mortgage, the lender will carry out a valuation of the property and provide a mortgage offer.

5. Enquiries: The buyer's conveyancer raises any necessary enquiries with the seller's conveyancer, such as questions about the property's boundaries or any fixtures and fittings that are included in the sale.

6. Contract exchange: Once all checks and searches are complete, and any necessary enquiries have been resolved, the buyer and seller exchange contracts. At this point, the transaction becomes legally binding, and a completion date is set.

7. Completion: On the agreed completion date, the buyer's conveyancer transfers the purchase funds to the seller's conveyancer. Once the funds have been received, the seller's conveyancer releases the keys to the property to the buyer's conveyancer, and the transaction is complete.

8. Post-completion: The buyer's conveyancer registers the transfer of ownership with the Land Registry, pays any stamp duty due, and sends a copy of the registered title to the buyer.

The conveyancing process can take anywhere from several weeks to several months, depending on various factors such as the complexity of the transaction and the speed at which searches and enquiries are completed.